Public access to the public switched telephone network has been most conventionally provided through public coin telephone stations. In order to satisfy current regulatory requirements applicable to such stations each instrument must provide notification as to the identity of the local Service Provider as well as the Long Distance Provider. This information is presently posted on the instrument on a Dial Instruction Card which includes instructions for use of the telephone along with the name of the Service Provider, such as a regional telephone company, and the name of the Long Distance Provider of Interexchange Carrier (IXC), such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint, etc.
When the Service Provider or long distance carrier is changed it is necessary to change the Notification Cards. In a typical regional telephone company the long distance carrier may be changed sufficiently frequently to require in excess of 5,000 card changes per month per region at a typical expense of approximately $2.5 million a year. In addition to these changes the cognizant regulatory agencies may also require a change or addition or additional information which necessitates a change of all cards. This may cost such a regional telephone company as much as $6 million for a complete exchange of cards. All such costs to a greater or lesser degree ultimately are reflected in the rate structure and result in increased consumer charges.
In addition to the foregoing problem the older practice of providing at each public coin telephone station a directory or set of directories has become a present impossibility as a practical matter. Such directories disappear in short order or are progressively mutilated by the tearing out of pages to obtain telephone numbers. This results in considerable public inconvenience in ability to contact public services such as taxis, tow trucks and the like.